Brown University Fall 2019 Transfer Thread

Rejected

Accepted for Spring Admit as a sophomore!

College: Top 40 National Universities
Humanities Major
College GPA: 3.69/4.0
HS GPA: 4.2, Senior GPA was 4.7; I was also an IB Diploma Recipient.
SAT: 1490
Recs: I spoke extensively with one, and worked with/asked for advice on internships with my other prof. I think these relationships created pretty good recs.
Essays: Focused on the importance of diversity in an institution’s student body and curriculum.
Extra: I organized my video submission around 3 themes: leadership, perseverance, and challenging vulnerability.

@twampytuesdays
Ok what’s the deal with my application. I had a 4.0 College GPA + T20 + Similar HS stats + Higher SAT scores. The only thing you had on me was the video submission which they said was optional. Are you a URM or legacy? Otherwise I’m really questioning how Brown made their transfer admit decisions this year. Nothing against you btw, just referencing you as a data point. I wasn’t even waitlisted, just flat out rejected.

@transferguy2019
It’s not just about stats you know. His essays were probably compelling and they probably thought his video was thoughtfully made. They look at your grades and academic credentials but also personality, extra curriculars, etc.
Also it depends on the judges and what they value most? brown might look for X while Harvard or Stanford might look for quality Y or Z.
That doesn’t mean one person is better or what not.
I wasn’t accepted either but I don’t think that just because I have higher scores that they made the wrong decision etc. hope that makes sense?

@transferguy2019

Ivy league admissions are not about stats – that’s been clear for the past couple decades. Sure, for transfer admissions there is a CORRELATION between high test scores + high GPA + high-ranked schools. But its not causality.

It’s generally the consensus that your personal narrative – the holistic combination of your academics, extracurriculars, and how all of that is woven together within your personal statement, and then ideally backed by your recommendation letters are what matters most. Without seeing other people’s or your essays, its fruitless to make assumptions.

One last thing considered is also your fit for the school. Nothing against you – you seem like a competitive and smart type – but there’s something to be said for personality-school fit. It seems you were really banking on numbers to get you in and that’s typically insufficient for highly competitive schools.

Also if you look at past threads you’ll see a number of people with stats like yours get rejected – its only natural.

@twampytuesdays

Congrats! Did you come from a public or a private uni?

And CONGRATULATIONS @twampytuesdays ?

@transferguy2019 you said “Must have been my high school transcript or essays that kept me out.”
It looks like their essays centered around ideas important to Brown… and the video is almost like another essay and theirs showcased character and personal strengths.

How were your essays? How well did they show personal character that would benefit fellow students at Brown and add to the community? How did they make you stand out against a sea of applicants with countless high marks to choose from?

It probably was not intentional, but immediately asking if they are URM or legacy minimizes their accomplishment to something they had nothing to do with personally because they were born with it.

It sucks getting rejected, I’m waiting on RUE decisions myself. But if you want to transfer again or apply to these kinds of schools for graduate school… being self-analytical and critical of the things you can control is going to help you do better in the future, not looking for reasons outside of your control to justify why you weren’t the perfect candidate this time. It’s not personal, it’s not about who you are or what you brought- but how you presented it.

@transferguy2019 your stats are really impressive, since we are applying for transfer, only if your major/concentration rising sophomore class has free spots on your concentration can the college accept transfer students. Maybe it so happened that your concentration in Brown is so popular that there is no free spot for sophomore, so it is their regret they can not take you. Anwyay, gold shines everywhere, if not Brown, then must be other elite/ivy college(s). Best wishes.

Hi guys, I have been stalking this thread for years (ever since i applied ED1 to Brown and got deferred then finally rejected). I think it is now the time to give back to future applicants. Hope this helps!

Accepted for Fall 2019 as a rising sophomore!

College: Top 30 National Universities
Intended Concentrations: Statistics & History & Religious studies
College GPA: 3.8/4.0
HS GPA: 4.15/4.5, 3.84/4 unweighted. I have 5’s on AP Calc AB, BC, Micro, USH, 4’s on Physics C, Chem, and Macro, SAT II Math 800, Chem 760
SAT: 1520, TOEFL: 114, so I am international.
Activities: several cultural clubs in college, and high school club presidents, yearbook editor-in-chief, photography and volunteer (a lot of volunteer involvement).
Recs: Two college prof who know me pretty well. One math and one writing prof.
Essays: Focused on my growth from a high school senior to college freshman, and how Statistics could better fit my passion. I am really specific about why Brown so I guess this is a plus.
Awards: not really… AP Scholar?

I did not submit the video, but i think the sign I applied ED1 was good because it shows to them how genuinely I love this institution.
Another hook: my PS is the same general topic as when I applied for freshmen admission, but I approached it from a completely different angle. I guess this shows my growth as a student and a person. You really have to be able to persuade ur self with a legit reason for transfer. AO knows whether you simply want to go to an Ivy or you can actually take advantages of the resources available at Brown.

My numbers are by no means stellar but rather mediocre I would say, but I think my entire package is directed towards Brown. I have different PS for different transfer schools to which I applied. Honestly I don’t consider myself as an impressive applicant, I just give all i can give and give it a shot.

Still waiting to hear from Columbia, Duke and some other selective schools, but I am so excited to get into Brown. Good luck to everyone out here. You all will end up going to places you like.

@transferguy2019 “Otherwise I’m really questioning how Brown made their transfer admit decisions this year.”.

You and many other candidates have grades and scores that suggest you could thrive academically at Brown. In fact multiple times the number they could admit. For perspective consider that through a normal admissions cycle Brown will reject 80+% of the 2,000 plus valedictorians that apply (these stats are likely dated and worse since last made public).

Their decision isn’t driven based on a few basis points of GPA score or a point or two on the ACT. Instead the school is focused on what you can contribute above and beyond succeeding academically. Some of these “attributes” are in your control while others aren’t. Unfortunately you will never be able to pinpoint what made one candidate standout versus another. Brown and all elites are very clear that it isn’t about checking boxes but instead what makes you unique.

When you say, “I checked every box for their typical sophomore transfer admit…” I fear your application missed the bigger point of what can I offer Brown that makes me stand out.

Having PM’d with you I know how smart, determined and engaged you are. Please don’t allow this rejection to feel personal. Unfortunately someone else stood out as a better fit specific to what Brown’s target need was. That is completely consistent with Brown’s stated approach and doesn’t in any way diminish you in the least. Again hoping for other good news for you to be forthcoming.

Yeah, I’m also feeling discouraged. My test score and high school gpa weren’t great, but I have multiple publications in competitive journals and a bunch of papers accepted to graduate and professional conferences. And my college gpa is 3.92/4.00 at a T20 liberal arts college famous for its academic rigor and grade deflation.

We just all have to keep in mind that there were other people who were better fits for Brown at the current time. These rejections don’t say anything about us as people. And I’m sure we will all succeed if we keep working hard!

@sproutedchiapet
@genedorbust
@36Biscuit
At least I got into Northwestern as an econ major. It could be that NU has a more stats-driven process for transfer applicants (and admittedly it is slightly less selective overall). And perhaps I made the mistake of presenting Brown with a portrait of who I actually am rather than fluffing up my essays with platitudes I knew they wanted to hear like “the value of being part of the Brown community” etc. I should have sent in the video too, but I did not realize how much of a qualitative boost that provided to one’s application. Oh well, NU might be a better fit for me anyway.

It’s good to be yourself though because that means brown might not be for you. But congrats on Northwestern! That’s an amazing college! @transferguy2019

@Nocreativity1
I know all of what you’re saying is true, I just need to vent a bit until I come to terms with it.
@Edward04
Wow I totally should have talked about my growth from high school to college as well.

Also I apologize @twampytuesdays for asking if you were URM or legacy, it’s clear from reading other posts that plenty of people with my stats were rejected, even from T20s.

@transferguy2019 NU is awesome! Congratulations! Chicago is an excellent city.
I think you did the right thing in presenting yourself with honesty, what’s fluff to you may be genuine to someone else, and that’s okay.
If you go to a place where you presented yourself with integrity, I imagine you’d be a lot happier than somewhere you went because you put on some supreme fluff.

Edit @transferguy2019 I thought you got in to NU, not that you were applying from there, my bad.

@transferguy2019 congratulations to your Northwestern acceptance, you are in T10 now.

@Transferguy2019 “perhaps I made the mistake of presenting Brown with a portrait of who I actually am rather than fluffing up my essays with platitudes I knew they wanted to hear like “the value of being part of the Brown community” etc.”.

You are entitled to vent but not at the expense of those who successfully applied or questioning the integrity of the process you knowingly submitted to. Your comment above seeks to suggest you were virtuous by showing the “real you”, while implying those who were accepted “fluffed” their applications by offering Brown what they knew they wanted to hear. Come on be a bigger person than that. The kids that got accepted earned it (so wrong for you to imply it was based on URM, etc).

This reflects poorly on you. Such a lack of introspection and self awareness may be at the root of your rejection. Use this opportunity to grow.

Brown with its collaborative atmosphere and commitment to mutual respect would not have been a good fit. Your responses prove the decision accurate.

@sproutedchiapet
No your first impression was correct, I got into NU applying from a different T20.
@Nocreativity1
None of that came across in my transfer essays so that’s beside the point.

@Transferguy “None of this came across in my transfer essays” I wouldn’t be so sure… you said you presented an accurate portrait of who you are. The people making the decisions look for patterns of behavior and continuity for hints of who they are considering. They look at letters of recommendation not just for what is said but what is omitted. They try and form a picture of what the candidates “voice” sounds like.

Nothing could be more representative of your voice then publicly questioning the worthiness of another students acceptance by suggesting it was because they are an underrepresented minority. "The only thing you had on me was the video submission which they said was optional. Are you a URM or legacy? ". It would appear you are unaware of how your words represent you. You suggested a persons success was based on their ethnic background marginalizing their self worth and shrugged it off with a tone deaf “not that I have anything against you”. How insulting regardless of your intent.

I am not trying to be harsh but deal with you as an adult. You are entitled to that respect.

You previously mentioned some serious conduct issues at your current school. Be aware that your words and actions now have real world results. You can control the words and actions but not the consequences. Once again good luck but rather then denial an apology to @twampytuesdays is what is appropriate.